#and fill tool my beloved but that’s not a brush

[artbytesslyn]

“OUNGH i MUST use these beautiful brushes that have been meticulously created by a talented artist i like”

proceeds to use the default FLAT ROUND BRUSH #2 for every drawing until i’m dead

[lezbiansolidsnake]

mgs medibang things SMILES !!!!!!!!!!!

[tgcg]

ms paint. you know her. u used her age 8 to make loads of rainbow ovals all over the canvas and then scramble it with selection tool. now u will know her true powers with my handyrandy tips under the readmore. some will be pretty basic and others are very special.

this post has 8 cool trix to learn for you. enjoy and i may do another in the future if i remember/learn more stuff

some of it might be common knowledge. but its got some deep cuts. all tips have gifs to show process easily.

🙂 enjoy and i hope this encourages you to fuck around in mspaint more

soundtrack for this post (loop it while you learn for advanced learning experience)

TIP 1) the right click trick

left and right mouse click correspond to col1 and col2 respectively, which u can see in the top bar. this applies to all brushes and the fill tool like above. when using shapes col2 will be the fill colour (if you have solid fill selected). right clicking with shape maker will reverse the colours use on the shape.

TIP 2) right click eraser

this one is extremely helpful for lineart or add shading. the eraser always uses col2. so your eraser can technically be any colour. but here's where you get powers: right clicking with eraser will only erase onto col1, with col2.

TIP 3) transparent selection change a guy destination

the beloved transparent selection tool works based on what is selected as col2. so long as you have the correct colour as col2 you can make any image transparent and put it on top of anything else. and yes this works with photo bg as you can see.

TIP 4) the gradience

this one is a little more complex. you want to start off with any canvas size, and make as many diagonal coloured bands as you want. (protip: holding down shift makes a perfectly diagonal line with line tool)

then you need to resize the canvas to a width of 1px (make sure you resize by pixels, and do not maintain aspect ratio). then resize again back to its original width (or a different width i cant stop you). you will have your lovely gradience.

TIP 5) superimposter

so. you got a cool gradient and wanna put a guy on it. heres what i do:

i open a 2nd mspaint with same canvas size and draw whatever i want on there. i then pick a completely unrelated colour to my entire piece, and set that as the bg. you could use white, pink, geen, whatever you want as long as it doesnt appear somewhere else in ur drawing. copy the guy.

go back to your gradient tab. ensure that col2 is set as that bg colour you picked (lilac for me). have "transparent selection" enabled. paste your guy in. cue fanfare

TIP 6) advanced superimposter

the great thing about this method is u can put multiple gradients in multiple areas of the image. this is where it gets all japanese printmaking type of shit. ukiyo-esque

all you need to do is make another canvas with a new gradient, ensure col2 is set as the colour you want to replace, then paste your original piece onto the new gradient. now my guy has a soft fade. you can do this as much as you want. (you could even make a canvas with a texture or photo and paste your drawing onto there)

TIP 7) "sketch layer"

so as you now know, col2 is what is removed when you click "transparent selection". which means you can also remove any instance of a colour from ur drawing. which means you can have a unique colour for sketch layer and remove it from the drawing later. i admittedly dont do this but it is a great trick to have.

now combine this with lowering your dpi for smoother lines. may seem obvious but it helps. its like a free stabiliser whenever u want.

TIP 8) rainbow art

now this is where you can get dizzee rascal "bonkers". check out my small and shitty rainbow trick. you can select anything and hold down shift, then drag with left mouse, to turn that selection into its own brush. i even did it with a guy. and you can of course do this with a photo as well.

🙂well that it for now. hope you liked it thanks for reading now back to your regularly scheduled tgcg programming

[erebusbabylon]

Prompt: Celebrimbor teaching reader to use the forge as a way to spend more time with her, but she has an accident and gets hurt/burns herself or something and he has to take care of her

Can we have that? As a lil treat?

Awwee this was a cute prompt! I hope you like what I did with your request! <3

Accident at the Anvil

(RoP! Celebrimbor x F! Reader) - No Warnings

You gazed out of a tall window, watching as the last rays of sunlight filtered through the trees, your heart heavy with longing. Celebrimbor had been consumed by his work lately, tirelessly forging armor for the Elven army. Each day felt longer without him by your side.

With a sigh, you turned away from the window and sought the company of a close friend. “I miss him,” you confessed, your voice laced with sadness. “He’s gone all hours of the day, and I hardly see him anymore.”

Your friend nodded sympathetically. “His work is important. But you deserve time together too.”

Determined, you decided to visit the forge. You made your way through the winding paths of Eregion, the sound of hammers striking metal growing louder as you approached.

The forge was alive with the glow of molten metal, the air thick with the smell of smoke and heat. You stepped inside, the warmth wrapping around you like a comforting cloak. Celebrimbor stood at the anvil, his brow furrowed in concentration, surrounded by pieces of intricate armor.

“Ah, my light,” he said, setting down his tools. He wiped his brow and approached you. “What brings you here?”

“I missed you,” you replied, your heart swelling at the sight of him. “I am desperate to be near you.”

He smiled but quickly glanced back at the armor. “I miss you too, beloved, but I have to finish this armor quickly. The army needs it.”

You felt a pang of disappointment but understood. The urgency of his task weighed heavily on him. “I know,” you said gently. “But I feel like I hardly see you anymore.”

Celebrimbor paused, his gaze softening as he stepped closer. “You’re right. I have been neglecting our time together. How about this: keep me company while I work? I can teach you how to forge a bit if you'd like.”

Your heart leaped at the suggestion. “Really? I would love that!”

He chuckled, a light in his eyes. “But you must promise to be careful. The forge can be dangerous.”

“I promise,” you replied, excitement bubbling within you.

Celebrimbor began explaining the basics of forging. He demonstrated how to shape metal, the rhythm of the hammer striking against the anvil, and how to manage the fire.

As the hours passed, you found joy in the process. The heat of the forge felt invigorating, especially as you worked alongside Celebrimbor, stealing glances at him when he concentrated on his craft. The bond between you deepened with each shared moment.

“Remember to keep your hands steady,” he advised, guiding your movements as you attempted to shape a piece of metal. “And never lose focus.”

You nodded, intent on following his advice. But as you worked, your excitement made you a bit careless. While reaching for a tool, your sleeve brushed against a large, glowing ember, sending a sharp pain shooting through your arm.

You gasped, pulling back in shock. Celebrimbor turned sharply, concern flooding his face as he rushed to your side.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice filled with urgency.

You looked down at your arm, a burn already reddening the skin. “I… I didn’t mean to—”

“We need to tend to this,” he said, his tone shifting from alarm to calm efficiency. The warmth of the forge suddenly felt overwhelming as he wrapped an arm around you, guiding you away from the heat.

Celebrimbor led you into his study, away from the forge’s heat. He quickly gathered supplies, his hands moving with practiced ease. You watched him, your heart swelling with gratitude and a hint of worry.

“Does it hurt, my love?” he asked softly, kneeling beside you as he cleaned the burn with gentle precision.

“It’s not too bad,” you replied, though the pain tinged your voice.

His brow furrowed in concern. “I should have kept a closer eye on you.”

“It was my mistake, not yours,” you reassured him. “I wanted to impress you.”

As he applied a soothing salve, his touch was both gentle and firm. You felt the warmth of his presence ease the sting of the burn.

“I care for you deeply,” he said, placing a kiss over your bandaged burn. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

You smiled softly, feeling the weight of his words. “I know. I am okay, truly.”

“I am so sorry you got hurt. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you…” His voice trailed off.

You cupped his face in your hands. “This small burn is a price I would pay tenfold if it meant I got to spend time with you.”

You placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Trying to ease his guilt, you attempted to make him laugh. “Do all your smiths receive these same healing services from you?” You asked with a grin.

“Only the ones who share my bed,” he quipped back with a wink.

[mimisempai]

You are the calm in my storms

Summary

Crowley has always hated storms and this one is no different. But it could be that an angel in the cottage has decided to change his beloved demon's mood...

Notes

Flufftober Prompt : Rainy day

On Ao3

Rating G -  1014 words

Crowley had just finished attaching the last flower-laden branch of the rosebush to the stake that would keep it from breaking under its weight when he saw the first drop of rain fall on a leaf. He looked up at the grey, cloudy sky and sighed as the wind grew stronger, causing the boards of the garden shed not far from him to creak.

He knew the storm was coming, but had hoped until the last moment that it would pass them by.

He hated storms. 

He hated them for many reasons, but the most important was that since the beginning of time, storms had been God's favourite way of showing his power, and storms were never a good omen.

He knew this storm was no such thing, but that didn't stop him from hating it, and his mood was in tune with the weather. Not to mention the fact that his precious plantations were unlikely to escape unscathed.

He glanced apologetically at his rose bushes growing on the hollyhocks along the side of the cottage, as if he were responsible for the weather.

As the rain grew heavier, he gathered up his gardening tools and stowed everything away in the shed before heading out onto the porch of the cottage.

Even Aziraphale's seasonal decorations of pumpkins and corncobs failed to make him smile, and he sighed as he brushed back his damp hair before opening the cottage door.

Feeling the dampness quickly settling in, he sighed again as he stepped through the door before taking off his jacket to hang it on the coat rack.

"Angel, I -"

The demon stopped dead in his tracks as the contrast between outside and inside hit him head on.

Warmth.

There was no other word to describe his first impression.

An incredible warmth.

The wood crackled in the fireplace, its glow casting a soft light into the living room.

The round table was set, beautifully decorated in the colours of autumn, and a candelabra was lit in the centre, adding to the gentle warmth.

Finally, the demon noticed the scent of wine, orange, cinnamon and star anise wafting through the room, enhancing the sense of comfort that had begun to fill him as soon as he arrived. 

Crowley called softly, still confused, "Angel?"

"Oh, there you are, I didn't hear you." 

Aziraphale had appeared, coming out of the kitchen with a steaming mug in each hand. He looked towards the window and nodded, "I see, the storm is definitely here now."

Crowley approached and absently took one of the mugs Aziraphale was handing him and asked, "Angel, what's all this? Is it for some special occasion I've forgotten?"

The angel shook his head.

"Then why?"

Aziraphale grabbed the demon's hand and pulled him towards the couch in front of the softly crackling fire, saying quietly, "Because I know you don't like storms."

"But how do you... well, I mean, I've never mentioned it and..."

Aziraphale made him sit down and then came to sit beside him before placing his hand on Crowley's knee as he replied, "After all these years, Crowley, there are still a few things I've been able to observe, don't you think? Like the fact that you get a little crankier and grumpier than usual when there's weather like this."

Crowley swallowed slightly. It went without saying that there was little they didn't know about each other, but that didn't stop him from feeling a little naked at being exposed yet again. 

He brought the mug of fragrant mulled wine to his face and, after inhaling the soothing scent, took a sip, imitated by the angel, before setting the mug down on the coffee table.

He said with a slight hesitation, "And so, all this..." he swept an arm around them, pointing to the fire, the table, the mulled wine, and continued, "It's because of the storm..."

Aziraphale put down his mug in turn and, taking Crowley's hand, kissed it gently on the palm before replying, "It's to make you forget that there is a storm outside."

" I see. " 

The demon took another sip of his mulled wine before asking

now with a slight playful gleam in his eye, "Oh, but it's going to take more than a warm atmosphere and some mulled wine to do that, so how are you going to make me forget, Angel?"

Aziraphale, the playful gleam in his eyes mirroring Crowley's, did not answer, but pulled the demon against him until he was astride him and did not wait to capture his lips in a long, deep kiss. 

Not to be outdone, Crowley wrapped his arms around the angel's neck and pressed in closer, the kiss lingering until they were forced to separate to catch their breath.

Crowley stepped back a little and, licking his lips, said in a slightly breathless voice, "I think it's working, Angel. I feel much better."

"If you can still talk coherently, it's clearly not good enough."

Aziraphale cupped the demon's face in his hands and pulled him to his face, capturing his lips again in another passionate kiss, the heat of which was no match for the flames in the fireplace.

Their embrace continued and, much later, as they lay on the sofa, Crowley sprawled over Aziraphale, both of them wrapped in a warm blanket, the demon said softly, "Thank you for doing this for me, Angel.

Aziraphale raised his hand and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen across the demon's forehead before saying softly, "For you, always, my beloved."

The demon let out a moan of contentment that almost sounded like a purr, leaning his cheek into the angel's hand before snuggling up against him, his face in the hollow of his neck as the angel pulled back the blanket that had slipped over them.

In this cosy cocoon of softness and warmth, Crowley was now definitely oblivious to the storm raging outside.

Aziraphale gently stroked Crowley's hair, a sweet smile on his lips, secretly happy to have been able to help the demon he loved more than anything.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

South Downs cottage series : here

Ineffable fan fictions Masterpost : here

[nanakiwii]

STARDEW VALLEY HANNIGRAM???

What the actual-?!

Really????

The voices won.

I regret nothing.

---------

Prison was boring.

Being locked up, as Hannibal expected, was all about routine and schedule. You wake up, eat, shower and shit when they tell you to. Good behavior was the key to bring back some of his old life pleasures: books and music, for example, were some of those achievements he earned.

But, Hannibal sensed he still needed something, or, someone to fill this void he called existence. After three years of isolation and intense silence, Hannibal couldn't help but to dig in every interaction he shared with his beloved.

In the time while they were apart, Will - somehow - managed to get engaged and marry a faceless woman and, as much as it hurt Hannibal, he couldn't deny he was happy to see Will as desperate as himself to try to easy the pain of their distance.

The lack of human contact didn't do great to his temperament and Hannibal knew we was becoming more "sassy" as days passed. He was bored. The bliss of the attention he received by the media was gone for ages. He found every assumption of his "diagnose" wrong and very dumb. "If this is the proof of human brightness, then we're destined to live in darkness" he thought.

It was this boredom that made him poke Alana Bloom until he discovered a way to taunt Will and to end his sickening loneliness.

Stardew Valley.

Apparently, it was farming game he could play with friends and family. And who was Will if not a friend and part of his family? Well, Hannibal guessed he had to find a way to play this exquisite video game with his precious Will.

---------

~ Inspired by this horrendous comic I drew on the printscreen brush tool a long time ago while I was sleep deprived and very very bored.

Text:

Will: "What is this game about?"

Hannibal: "I suppose it's a farm game, Will."

Will: "And, why you wanna play with me?"

Hannibal: "Well, Alana commented about it, and I'm curious."

Will: "I don't believe you."

Hannibal: "Come on, Will. I'm locked and bored. Help me out."

Will: "Fine."

Later...

Will *behind a computer screen*: "I still don't know how you manage to have those things."

Hannibal *also behind a computer screen*: "I'm a very behaved prisoner."

Will: "..."

Will: "No, look, let's just play."

[Stardew Valley home screen]

Hannibal: "Soo much hair options."

Will: "Shut up."

Hannibal: "What do I put on 'favorite thing?'"

Hannibal: "Such a hard question!"

Will: "I wrote 'dogs'"

Hannibal: "Yeah, I suppose you did."

Will: "You want me to ask, don't you?"

Hannibal: "Ask what?"

Will: "What did you write?"

Hannibal: "Oh, hoho... You would be surprised."

Will: "If you say 'pork' I'll kill you."

Hannibal: "Then, you better pick a knife."

Will: "Fuck you and your cannibal jokes, Hannibal!"

Hannibal: "Me and my jokes."

[Hannibal's character building screen:

Name: Hannibal M.D

Farm Name: Hospital

Favorite Thing: Will Graham ]

End.

AGAIN: SORRY ABOUT THE MAJOR GRAMMAR AND ENGLISH ERRORS. I WAS HALF ASLEEP HALF ALIVE AND I NEEDED SOME CRACK FIC TO KEEP GOING!

I wanted to post it somewhere because I keep laughing alone about what I made and wanted to share with other people.

The art is shit, but someday I'll make something better (I probably won't. Will I?)

[creaturing-your-faves]

(If you're comfortable with this) could you make a tutorial on how you make your creations??? It'd okay if not, thank you for making them :D

WAA i can try!! baby's first tutorial ft. this guy

🐾 first, a picture of your blorbo

i use waifu2x to up the quality, not always neccessary but it makes everything a bit easier and prettier. i use firealpaca to edit but you can use whatever you like, im not your mom

🐾 probably get a reference

yeah i dont always do this. but you should! i should! so google whatever creature you want to turn blorbo into and maybe scroll for a bit to get a feel for what they look like :3

try to find one at a similar angle to your blorbo picture and paste it/open as a layer. look this is close enough ↓

🐾 onto the actual editing! human ear surgery

in case you prefer just one pair of ears. you have to understand the style so you can imitate it.... so look at their hair, maybe theres more colors or gradients than you can see at a glance or something ! i colorpick a bunch of them and put them over their ears, then blend them together with a low opacity watercolor brush

ALSO, notice the.. lighter glowy aura thing around his ear in the og? i try to imitate details like that too, used watercolor for this again

now maybe you wanna make it look like theres something covering that spot, since theres kinda nothing there now. soo if that looks weird to you, (open a new layer and) put some hair over it. i cant tell u how to imitate Any style so just. study it and keep trying

with enstars here the lines are pretty soft, so i go over it with watercolor brush after doing the general shape. with a higher opacity you could probably just use a softer brush from the start, i just like starting with the basic pen

🐾 the lines!!!

nowww i lower the blorbos opacity to around 50%, bring the reference somewhere i can see and just kinda... start sketching. lot of redrawing and transform tooling here sometimes

TIPS 1. you can clean the lines up at the end so dont stress

2. think of your blorbos new ears as a real tangible part of their body and how they fit on their head since you dont wanna make it look too flat !

3. and for the placement i always end up at roughly one human ear length above their og ears if that makes sense. tried to visualize it

as for inner ear fluffs phew i dont know either. draw a circle and start from there? maybe there are actual animal ears in blorbo artstyle out there you could reference

🐾 coloring 🏳️‍🌈

finally some progress huh. i color the lines in a contrasting color first so i see the lines properly and dont miss anything, then fill it in with the actual color :3 OH and for gradients i just use the airbrush at the ear tips or sides

noww shading! new layer, basic pen brush and try to follow the shapes in the og art. it's best if you pick the colors from the actual picture!!! take notes mentally and just do your best i dont know how to explain this more

taking this as an example, the shading is mostly in pretty simple wider areas, so not a lot of seperate strands in there. and its again pretty soft around the edges of shades and highlights, so i'll go over it with my beloved watercolor. keep things like that in mind so the creaturing blends in well :3

if you like more detail better you can still go with that. or less detail on a complex artstyle. the world is your oyster

🐾 and the rest

what else could there be???? making the lineart more cohesive for example ★ oftentimes it's not one solid color, thicker or thinner than yours, things like that.

for things like piercings or fangs you can just draw them on top i believe in you <3 if its like an intricate earring use the lasso? magic wand? the one that lets you select an area to copy and move on top of your ear layers

+ remember details like shadows, if you put a tail on top of say blorbos leg there's gonna be a shadow under it! put a layer under the tail ones and freehand draw the shadow, OR copy the tail layer, put the copy under the og one and change color/opacity until it fits

[see-arcane]

Do you have any tips on digitally coloring art that you have sketched traditionally?

Oof, I'm still extremely novice if I'm being honest. I won't call them tips, but a few things I like to do when adding color lately:

Playing with color-tinted lighting. By which I mean first coloring everything in as it'd be in plain white lighting, then going back in with decreased opacity paint bucket tool to tinker with a shade to match the actual light source. I've used moonlight in a lot of my Dracula stuff, usually with a non-black night backdrop, whether it's subtle:

Or rich:

that extra hue gives things a more ~dramatic~ lens than having everything starkly base-colored, I think.

Next, picking and playing with a specific palette. Black-red-white is a favorite for the peak edgy horror-gothic stuff

but really I just like latching onto A Color and hopping around its gradients to fill a piece in. One of my favorites is '80's Fantasy Purple':

Speaking of fantasy! I am occasionally a sucker for lots of pretty pretty glitter and sheer for extra dreamy/pulp cover looks

And with the flimsier stuff above ^^^ I just play around with opacity until I'm happy with the fill-in, followed by going over the edges with the blur tool until it looks nice and gauzy

Back to lighting, one of my most beloved (and admittedly bare bones) tricks is using a combo of one 0% Hardness blotch of color--read: a very fuzzy-hazy spot--followed by one 100% Hardness spot--read: a normal paint spot--to create the illusion of extremely intense glowing. That could be for something as simple as glowing eyes...

(Her eyes and the moon were done the same way, hazy purple spot first, smaller sharper white spot on top ^^^)

...or doing both of these, placed on top of a radiating gradient effect. Such as:

(One of my favorite color combos is 'bloody sunset' when the sun goes down extra golden molten and makes the sky look like it's burning. Deep yellow + an intense red-to-black gradient = Most Dramatic Lighting Possible)

And, very last note, which you can probably spy above--fog! Love me some billowy theatrical fog! Again, it's just an opacity trick and making sure the paintbrush is on its lowest hardness setting before whirling the brush around into lumps.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head for now

[worrysomegus]

Do you have any tips or good tutorial links for getting started using the hair tools in Blender? They seem intimidating, but your models look fantastic

sorry I uuuh don't watch tutorials (evil) I just fucked around for years until it suddenly clicked. So here's a few things, not sure if they'll be useful or not

also blenders particle system fur isn't being worked on anymore and is getting glitchier by the update so maybe look into geometry node fur (I haven't) (evil) also everything under the cut is assuming you know absolutely nothing about hair

this is based on blender 3.5 btw

create a particle system, put it to your desired length (short fur is usually longer than you expect) then set the number to 0, then you can use the add tool to get a symmetrical groom

the strands you add are just to guide all the fur, in areas that curve a lot add more to prevent clipping

puff brush is best girl

once you've finished your groom you can create a weight map to control the furs density (you can also make some for clumping and randomness and shit) (I usually don't) (mostly because I'm lazy) then go to children > interpolated and select your weight map in the density zoneland, if your computers beefy and/or you want a better idea of what it will look like you can change the viewport amount of particles to 100 (or whatever)

go render properties > curves and change it to strip (you don't need to do this using cycles) then back into particle properties under hair shape to change the diameter root length from 1 to whatever looks best (uber dependent on what size your model is, I usually go with 0.08)

oh fuck I forgot to mention you gotta do different systems for the head, neck, body, whatever. It makes it easier and is better for lag

roughness is pretty important for making animal-ish fur too, here's my settings I used for making this face fur, my settings for all my particle systems are pretty consistent but it's also pretty dependent on your models size

here;s some other things I forgot and can't be bothered to go back and add

selecting this thing will let you select groups

uuuuuh I think that's it on the groom itself onto shaders

so they're pretty important to making some nice looking fur, you can make it look fine in eevee but cycles will probably always look more realistic (not to imply eevee isn't best girl it's really good at most things)

(eevee)

(cycles)

in cycles you pretty much just need a principled hair bsdf shader with a few settings tweaked (here's mine for the model above) (also make sure the fur material is different to the skin material)

so for both cycles and eevee your best friend ever is the curves info node (hair info in older versions)

all of these can be pretty useful but the most usefulest ones for me are intercept into a colour ramp makes an ombre from the roots to the tip

and random which adds variation to the strand colour

here's a little breakdown of my cycles shader for her

and eevee, they're pretty similar tbh

BUT also for eevee you need to change a few more things to give your hair weight n shit

in render properties enable ambient occlusion and bloom, then in the settings of your lights enable contact shadows

and one more important thing for nice looking hair is lighting, I find it easier in cycles because it reacts more realistically and rim lighting my beloved, but in eevee it's suuper important to making it not look flat, if doing those settings edits didn't do much it's because of your lighting

1 make your background completely black so you can see what you're doing better

2 add ONE area light and position it, pay attention to how the size, distance, and power affect things and make sure you don't make your model look flat

then you can add a rim light (duplicate the area light and reposition) if you want to give your character some extra highlighting, although good fucking luck if you're using eevee it's probably not worth doing

then you can add an hdri (super good webbed site for them) to be the fill light

having it at full strength tends to flatten the model (especially in eevee)

(cringe mode)

(yaaay)

and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh I think that's it, I don't feel like reading all this back tbh

and please don't follow this like a loser follows the law this is just a guide and you should do whatever you find the most fun/gets the best result

ALSO ALSO don't feel upset if your first few attempts look like dogshit fur is super hard and only insane people make beautiful grooms first try

[clumsynoobsstuff]

toxic ll

chapter 2:

warning :smut

As Y/n ran back and forth, her steps echoed through the room. The heavy click of the locktrapping her inside. With each passing moment, the suffocating weight of loneliness pressed against her chest. It was time to feed Kiwi, her only solace.

The lock finally clicked open, and the heavy door creaked as it swung inward.  Y/n's eyes widened ias she saw Katsuki standing there, their baby Kiwi cradled gently in his arms.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as their eyes met, the intensity of his fiery red gaze locking with her own.

Without a word, Katsuki stepped forward, his expression unreadable. As he approached, Y/n's heart pounded in her chest, a mixture of fear and longing coursing through her veins.

She reached out a trembling hand towards him, her fingers brushing against his rough, calloused skin

In that  moment, everything else faded away—the cold, the loneliness, the despair.

All that mattered was this fragile connection between them, their shared love for their tiny, precious Kiwi.

Tears welled up in Y/n's eyes as she looked at Katsuki, silently pleading for understanding, for forgiveness, for a chance to start anew.

And in that silent,as they stood there locked in each other's gaze, Y/n dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, they could find their way back to each other.

"Feed my brat," Katsuki's voice sliced through the air like ice.

His gaze bore into Y/n, devoid of any warmth or affection. To him, she was nothing more than a tool, a necessary vessel for their child's sustenance.

With a heavy heart, Y/n cradled Kiwi in her arms, the weight of Katsuki's words settling like a leaden burden on her shoulders. She was no longer his beloved bride, but merely a means to an end, a duty-bound mother to their child.

Without a word, Y/n nodded numbly, her hands shaking as she took Kiwi from Katsuki's arms. She forced a smile, though it felt more like a grimace, as she cradled their child close to her chest. As she prepared to feed Kiwi,

In that moment, as she looked at Katsuki, she saw no trace of the love.

It was as if he refused to acknowledge that Kiwi was not just his child, but theirs.

She longed to scream, to make him see that Kiwi was not just his "brat," but their precious baby,But the words caught in her throat, suffocated by the weight of his dismissiveness.

Y/n felt the weight of Katsuki's gaze like a heavy blanket, suffocating her as she settled onto the bed, preparing to feed their baby Kiwi.

She couldn't help but notice the distance between them, both physically and emotionally.

As she cradled their child close to her chest, she could feel Katsuki's eyes on her, but it was not a gaze filled with love or tenderness—it was a look of suspicion and guardedness.

With each passing moment, It was as if Katsuki was afraid she would disappear with their son, hide him away from him once more.

The memory of their past struggles loomed over them .

Y/n couldn't bring herself to meet Katsuki's gaze, the weight of his distrust heavy on her shoulders.

She knew she had hurt him in the past, had made choices that had driven a wedge between them.

But now, as she sat there with their baby in her arms, all she wanted was to bridge that gap, to show him that she was here, that she would never take their child away from him.

But Katsuki's eyes never wavered, his laptop screen casting a harsh glow on his features.

It was as if he was building a wall between them, his fear and mistrust palpable in the air.

Y/n longed to reach out to him, to make him see that she was here to stay, that she would never take their son away from him.

But in that moment, as she looked at Katsuki, she knew that their road to healing would be long and arduous.

The scars of their past mistakes ran deep, and the wounds between them had yet to fully heal.

  Y/n's heart sank as she watched Katsuki on the couch, his eyes flickering between their baby Kiwi and the glow of his laptop screen.

his gaze lingering on Kiwi, a mix of protectiveness and unease.

Katsuki's eyes darted back and forth, his attention divided between Kiwi and the screen.

Y/n's heart warmed as she watched Kiwi on the bed, his tiny hands and legs kicking excitedly in anticipation of the milk he was about to receive.

Despite the tension in the room, Kiwi's infectious joy brought a smile to her face.

She leaned over, her fingers gently brushing against Kiwi's cheek, feeling the softness of his skin beneath her touch.

His bright red eyes met hers, sparkling with happiness and innocence. It was as if he knew that he was about to be fed, his joyful movements a dance of anticipation.

Y/n couldn't help but chuckle softly at his excitement, her heart swelling with love for her precious child.

Despite the doubts and fears that lingered between her and Katsuki, in this moment, all that mattered was the pure, unbridled joy of their baby.

Y/n's smile widened, the warmth of maternal love washing over her. She whispered soothing words to him, her voice a gentle melody in the quiet room. Kiwi responded with coos and gurgles, his happiness contagious.

As She about to  lowerthe strap of her black knee-length dress.

Y/n's heart raced as she felt Katsuki's gaze on her, a mix of tension and discomfort filling the air. With a deep breath, she mustered the courage to meet his eyes, her own gaze .

"Can I have some privacy?" she managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper. The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken emotions.

"Oh, asking for privacy now, are we?" Katsuki's voice dripped with scorn, his eyes narrowing with a cruel edge.

"Because, you know, I haven't seen everything already. What's left to hide, huh?"

The words cut through Y/n like a knife. She felt a surge of anger rise within her, but she swallowed it down, trying to maintain her composure

"I just want some space" Y/n retorted, her voice tinged with defiance despite the humiliation burning in her chest.

"Space? From your loving husband?" he sneered, the words hitting Y/n like a slap in the face.

Y/n clenched her jaw, but she was around Kiwi as she fought to keep her emotions in check. She refused to let Katsuki see how much his words wounded her.

she glanced over at Katsuki, his eyes still fixed on his laptop screen, unmoving.

It was clear he had no intention of leaving, his mistrust was clear in room.

With a resigned sigh, Y/n finally lowered the strap of her black knee-length dress, her fingers trembling slightly.

She could feel Katsuki's gaze burning into her, the weight of distrust.

Summoning every ounce of courage she had left, Y/n pushed aside her discomfort and hesitantly reached for the neckline of her dress.

Slowly she pushed one side of her dress down, exposing her breast as she prepared to feed Kiwi.

The room fell silent as Y/n focused on her task, She cradled Kiwi close to her, guiding him to her breast as he eagerly latched on.

Y/n tried to block out everything else, focusing solely on the precious moment with her baby.

With each gentle suckle, Kiwi's contented murmurs filled the room, a soothing melody to her ears.

Y/n couldn't help but smile as she looked down at their child, his tiny hand resting against her chest.

In that moment, as she held Kiwi close,  Despite Katsuki's doubts and mockery, she was here, fulfilling her role as a mother.

And as she stole a glance at Katsuki, she saw his eyes on her and then back to his laptop screen .

As Kiwi finally drifted off to sleep, his tiny lips still molded in the shape of Y/n's nipple, she gently removed her breast from his mouth with a soft pop sound. The room was filled with a peaceful quiet.

Y/n's heart swelled with a mixture of love and exhaustion as she gazed down at her sleeping baby. His little face was angelic in repose, the gentle rise and fall of his chest a soothing rhythm.

With a tender touch, she traced her finger along Kiwi's chubby cheek, marveling at the perfection of this tiny being they had brought into the world.

His lips still held the shape of her nipple, a gentle reminder of the nourishment and comfort she had provided.

as she was about to graze her hand over Kiwi's blonde fuzzy hair, savoring the tender moment of his peaceful sleep.

But before her fingers could touch his soft locks, she felt a sudden force yank her up, away from their baby.

Startled, Y/n gasped as Katsuki pulled her away from Kiwi with a roughness that made her stumble.

She could feel the heat of his anger radiating off him, his grip on her arm tight and unforgiving.

"What do you think you're doing?" Katsuki's voice was a low growl, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared down at her.Y/n's heart raced with a mix of fear and confusion.

"I-I was just... I wanted to..." she stammered, struggling to find the words as she tried to pull away from his grasp.

"You're not fit to be around him."Tears welled up in Y/n's eyes as she looked up at Katsuki, her voice trembling with emotion.

"And you lost any right to him the moment you tried to take his right to have a father "

As Katsuki continued to hold her in his tight grip, Y/n's heart ached for Kiwi, who was now stirring from his sleep, disturbed by the commotion.

She longed to reach out to him, to comfort him and protect him from the tension between his parents.

But in that moment, as she looked into Katsuki's eyes, all she saw was anger and betrayal.

And as he yanked her away from their baby once more.

Y/n's heart raced with panic as Katsuki dragged her away from the room where Kiwi slept peacefully, his grip unyielding as he led her to another room.

She stumbled along, trying to break free, but his strength was overpowering

Before she could protest, Katsuki shoved her into the room and slammed the door shut behind them, the loud thud echoing in the small space.

As Katsuki looked at her, his gaze traveled down the length of Y/n's body,  Her long hair fell in waves, cascading down her waist in a dark, silky cascade.

The black slick dress she wore hung loosely on her petite frame, the fabric draping over her curves in a tantalizing manner.

Her breath came in shallow gasps, her chest heaving up and down with each beat of her heart.

The dress accentuated her curves, the fabric molding against her body in all the right places.

Katsuki's eyes were drawn to the cleavage line that peeked out from the neckline, a subtle hint of the softness hidden beneath.

As Katsuki stood there, his gaze lingering on Y/n's figure, he couldn't shake the memories that flooded his mind. He reminded himself of how she had clung to IcyHot.

How could she keep such a life-altering secret from him?

He remembered the day he found out, the shock and disbelief that coursed through him like a bolt of lightning.

The realization that she had kept their child hidden from him, denied him the chance to be a father from the start, filled him with a sense of betrayal and anger that he couldn't shake.Katsuki clenched his fists at his sides, his jaw tightening with pent-up frustration

. The memory of her deceit and the pain it had caused him made him resent her even more.

Y/n found herself trapped against the wall, Katsuki's imposing figure looming over her."Enough," he growled, his voice low and dangerous

As Katsuki cornered Y/n against the wall, his  figure towered over her, his muscular physique casting a daunting shadow over her timid one.

His grey sweatpants hugged his powerful legs, the fabric stretched taut over his defined muscles.

Above, a black sleeveless top clung to his broad chest, the ripple of his well-defined torso.

Every movement he made seems a testament to the strength and control he held over his own body.

The veins in his arms bulged with restrained power, a silent warning of the force he possess.

Katsuki's face was a portrait of intensity, his sharp features accentuated by the crimson red of his eyes that blazed with anger and frustration.

His jaw was clenched , the muscles working beneath the surface as he glared down at Y/n.

Despite the harshness of his expression, there was a raw beauty to Katsuki's features.

His sharp jawline and  his piercing gaze.

Katsuki's presence was overwhelming,He exuded confidence and authority, a man who was used to being in control.

Despite the fear he instilled in Y/n, there was something undeniably magnetic about Katsuki.

His raw power  drew her in, even as she struggled against the fear and uncertainty that he evoked.

In that moment, as he stood before her, his muscled form towering over her tiny figure, Y/n couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. Fear, yes, but also a strange fascination.

Y/n's breath caught in her throat as she felt the weight of his anger bearing down on her.

She tried to speak, to reason with him, but fear and desperation rendered her speechless.

"What do you want from me?" she finally managed to whisper, her voice barely above a trembling breath.

Katsuki's eyes bore into hers, cold and unforgiving. "I want you to stay away from my brat," he spat, his words like daggers.

"But he's our son," Y/n pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion.

"he is my son"

his face contorted with rage.

"I made mistakes, but I'm trying to make things right."

," Y/n's voice trembled with frustration and anger, her words laced with bitterness. "You're now taking Kiwi's right to have a mother."

The moment the words left her lips, she could see the anger boiling beneath Katsuki's surface. His eyes flashed with rage, and before she could react, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her head back against the wall.

Y/n cried out in pain as Katsuki's grip tightened, his fingers digging into her scalp. She could feel the heat of his anger radiating off him, his breath hot against her face.

"Don't you dare," Katsuki's voice was a low growl, his eyes blazing with fury. "Don't you dare talk about my son like that."

Y/n winced as the pain shot through her, but she refused to back down. "He deserves to have both parents," she insisted, her voice trembling but defiant.

"why you didn't thought this when you kept you pregnancy hidden from me you whore"

Katsuki's grip on her hair tightened even more, his face inches from hers

"you didn't want then to have him both his parents then why now huh?"

With a surge of adrenaline, Y/n pushed against Katsuki's chest, trying to free herself from his grasp.

But he was too strong, his anger fueling his strength as he pressed her harder against the wall.

"Let me go," Y/n pleaded, her voice strained with pain.

But Katsuki's grip only tightened, his fingers twisting in her hair. "You're not going anywhere," he growled, his face contorted with rage.

Y/n could feel tears welling up in her eyes, a mixture of fear and anger coursing through her veins. She knew she had to find a way to calm him down, to make him see reason.

"Please, Katsuki," she begged, her voice barely a whisper. "Let's talk about this. For Kiwi's sake."

But Katsuki's rage seemed to consume him, his eyes wild and unyielding. In that moment, as she stared into his furious gaze.

Trapped against the wall, with Katsuki's grip on her hair cutting into her scalp, Y/n felt a sense of helplessness wash over her. 

"I just want to be a mother to him"

Katsuki's laugh was bitter and mocking. "A mother ?"

he ripped her black dress from the front, the fabric tearing apart with a loud rip.

Y/n gasped in shock as the dress fell away, leaving her exposed before him.

Her breasts were now fully revealed to Katsuki, the air cool against her bare skin.

As Katsuki's gaze fell upon Y/n's exposed breasts, he couldn't help but notice how they seemed fuller and larger than before.

The sight of her breasts, swollen with milk and heaving with each breath, stirred conflicting emotions within Katsuki

"Just because of these," Katsuki's voice was rough and filled with anger as he roughly grabbed her milk-filled breast. Y/n gasped at the sudden pain and humiliation, her body tensing under his grip.

Y/n's body trembled as she leaned back against the wall, her arm reaching up to hold onto Katsuki's wrist that was tangled in her hair.

The rough grip on her hair caused her to arch her back, pushing her chest forward and exposing her breasts even more to him.With her other hand, Y/n reached out to grip Katsuki's hand that was harshly squeezing her right breast.

As Katsuki's hand reached out and harshly grabbed one of Y/n's breasts, he couldn't help but feel the softness of them beneath his fingers.

the fullness and warmth of her breast, and he could feel the weight of it in his palm.

She knew she should push him away, to resist his touch and his advances.

But there was a part of her that couldn't deny the desperation of being desired, of being wanted by the man she loved.

But this was not the touch of desire this was the touch of hatred and pain.

With a surge of desperation and, she summoned all her strength and pushed against Katsuki's chest, trying to break free from his grasp.

But he was too strong, his anger fueling his strength as he held her firmly in place..

"Please, Katsuki, stop," Y/n pleaded, her voice trembling with pain.

he couldn't help but notice the color of her nipples.

They were a dusky shade of pink, the rosy hue standing out against the pale skin of her breast.

But Katsuki's grip only tightened, his fingers digging into her flesh as he continued to assault her.

Y/n could feel tears streaming down her cheeks, a mixture of anguish and anger overwhelming her.In that moment, as she stared into Katsuki's eyes, filled with rage and hatred,

His thumb brushed lightly over the hardened nipple

"Just having these don't make you a mother," Katsuki's words cut through Y/n like a knife, his voice filled with venom as he continued to grip her milk-filled breast harshly.

She could feel the ache radiating through her body, the sharp pain of his rough touch making her cry out in both physical and emotional agony.

the father of their child, treat her with such cruelty and disdain?

"Just because you can feed him doesn't mean you're a mother," Katsuki's voice was filled with contempt, his eyes blazing with hatred as he stared down at her.

Y/n's heart shattered at his words, her chest constricting with pain. She had thought that nurturing and caring for their baby, providing him with the milk that sustained him, made her a mother. But in Katsuki's eyes, it was nothing.

The weight of his words pressed down on her, crushing her spirit as she struggled against his grip.

She felt stripped bare, not just physically with her breast exposed, but emotionally laid bare as well.

as Katsuki harshly grabbed her milk-filled breasts, squeezing them with a cruel force.

She cried out in pain as a few drops of milk oozed out, .

As Katsuki squeezed Y/n's breast harshly, his fingers digging into the soft flesh, he couldn't help but notice something different. There, at the tip of her nipple, he saw drops of milk oozing out.

Y/n's breath caught in her throat as she felt the pressure of his grip on her breast, the sensation heightened by the milk that flowed from her nipple.

She gasped as Katsuki's thumb brushed against the hardened peak, coaxing more drops of milk to the surface.

Katsuki couldn't tear his gaze away from the drops of milk that dripped from Y/n's nipple, his thumb brushing against the wetness as he continued to squeeze her breast.

The room seemed to spin around her as she felt Katsuki's rough hands on her, his grip unyielding and cruel.

She could hear the sound of her own rapid breaths, the pounding of her heart echoing in her ears.

As Katsuki continued to squeeze her breasts, Y/n felt a wave of nausea and helplessness wash over her.

."Please, Katsuki, stop," she pleaded, her voice trembling with both pain and desperation.

With a desperate need for release, Y/n arched her back even further, pushing her breast against Katsuki's hand as she offered herself to him completely. The heat of his touch against her sensitive flesh, the roughness of his grip combined with the wetness of her milk, sent her over the edge.

Katsuki's jaw clenched with a mixture of desire and restraint as he felt the drops of milk wetting his fingers.

His eyes were fixed on her nipples, her face contorted in pleasure, her eyes squeezed shut as she moaned softly.

The sight was intoxicating, the raw and primal need that burned between them igniting a fire within him that he couldn't ignore.

Katsuki's fingers continued to tease her nipple, gathering the drops of milk that pooled there before bringing them to his lips.

Y/n gasped as she felt his tongue swirl around her nipple, the wetness of her milk on his tongue sending a jolt of pleasure through her body.

With a primal hunger, he sucked harshly at her nipple, his tongue swirling around the hardened peak as he drank deeply from her. Y/n cried out in pleasure, her back arching off the bed as she felt the heat building within her.The roughness of Katsuki's suckling, coupled with the wetness of her milk on his tongue, sent waves of pleasure coursing through her body.

As Katsuki tasted the warm, sweet milk that flowed from Y/n's breast, he couldn't help but groan .

The sensation was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

he released her nipple from his mouth and moved to her other breast, his hand squeezing her neglected boob firmly.

she felt Katsuki's fingers digging into the soft flesh of her breast, his thumb brushing against her hardened nipple.

With his other hand, Katsuki gripped Y/n's waist firmly, holding her in place as he continued to feast on her. He could feel her body trembling beneath his touch.

As he continued to drink from her breast, his movements becoming more frantic and urgent,.

The pleasure was overwhelming.

She clung to him desperately, her fingers tangling in his hair as she urged him on.

The roughness of Katsuki's suckling, coupled with the wetness of her milk on his tongue, sent waves of pleasure coursing through her body.

she could feel the pressure of the vacuum his mouth created.

As Y/n looked down at Katsuki, she couldn't help but be captivated by the sight before her. His eyes were closed in pure bliss, his mouth latched onto her nipple with a fierce hunger.

Y/n gasped as she felt herself being pulled up, her body pressed against Katsuki's chest as he devoured her breast

His mouth was still attached to her nipple.

Y/n's legs dangled over the ground as Katsuki held her firmly above him, her body pressed against his chest.

Katsuki's grip on her waist was firm and unyielding, his fingers digging into her skin as he pulled her closer to him. He wanted to taste every inch of her, to drink from her until she was completely spent.

As Katsuki opened his mouth wider, he eagerly took more of Y/n's breast into his mouth, feeling the weight of them inside his warm mouth.

she felt herself being engulfed by his mouth, the sensation of him taking more of her breast.

Feeling the intense pleasure coursing through her body, Y/n struggled with conflicting desires. As much as she wanted Katsuki to continue, she knew that if he drank all the milk, there wouldn't be enough left for their baby, Kiwi.

With a mix of reluctance and urgency, Y/n gently ruffled Katsuki's hair, her voice barely a whisper as she said,

"Let go, Katsuki... Kiwi needs it."

Katsuki's mouth was still latched onto her breast, his lips and tongue working her .

He was lost in the pleasure of drinking from her, his desire consuming him completely.

But at her words, a moment of realization washed over him

He paused, his mouth still against her breast as he processed what she had said.

Slowly, reluctantly, Katsuki released her breast from his mouth.

Katsuki practically remove his hands from her waist, she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a soft thud. The sudden change in his demeanor, from intense desire to cold detachment,

She scrambled to sit up, feeling a mix of confusion and fear at the shift in his mood.

Katsuki stood before her, his composure regained but the anger simmering just beneath the surface.

His crimson eyes bore into hers with a fierce intensity, a silent warning of the storm that was brewing inside him.

Y/n's heart raced as she tried to read his expression, unsure of what would come next.

"Katsuki," she began, her voice trembling slightly. "I... I thought..."

"You know what? You are right," Katsuki said, his voice filled with malice. "He deserves to have a mother."

his hands moved to his pockets .

Y/n's eyes widened in shock, her heart pounding in her chest knowing where this is going  .

"Katsuki, please..." she started, her voice trembling.

But he cut her off with a cold, cruel laugh.

"I'll get him a mother," he said, the smirk never leaving his lips.

"Katsuki, no..." she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper

as he left her storming off   leaving her alone .

With tears streaming down her face, Y/n whispered to herself, "I will always be there for you, Kiwi. No matter what."

[diezmil10000]

Hi hi, hope you're doing well!! Wanted to ask if you could explain how you pick colours! They're always so appealing to look at... (If you could also explain how you pick blush colours it'd be great! I never manage to pick good ones, no matter how hard I try :'))

hi anon, i'm doing fine!! it's summer right now where i live and that's healing all my problems (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

i have recorded the process of some of my drawings and everything is posted in my youtube channel (in twitter too), so i'll drop the link here and try my best to explain the coloring part to you. the short answer is that none of the colors you see in my drawings are similar to those i initially picked.

i try to keep my lineart loose but i pay attention to the outlines so i can quickly select the outer parts, invert the selection and fill it with the bucket tool. my base colors are all 100% opaque and i don't use any fancy brushes here.

as to how i pick colors, i never use the color picker tool, i eyeball everything. that's important for me because i tend to make all of them warmer: the greens are dark yellows, the pinks are light reds, and everything that's close to blue is very desaturated. i do this even for drawings that turn out much different later, unless i have a very specific vibe in mind from the beginning. i also never use pure whites for anything, and if something is black i make it part of the lineart.

then i always color my lineart!! there's no trick to that, the layer is in normal mode and i just paint it with a darker color than what's below it. i usually add the shadows and highlights at this stage of the drawing too. you're going to kill me for this but shade with gray set in color burn or linear burn (never multiply). i just don't want to think about color variety at this stage because it makes things more difficult for later. sometimes i add textures and some basic color correction here (curves, color balance, layers set in overlay, etc.) but i mostly leave that for the next part.

as to how i choose blush colors, i usually pick the base color and move it towards the saturated end of the color wheel, and a bit more pink. sometimes i add a multiply layer and airbrush hot red over the base colors at low opacity. coloring the lineart with hot colors surrounding the blush areas helps a lot too :)

i also almost always duplicate the lineart, blur it and set it in linear burn (i paint this layer in a light gray). this adds a lot of depth to the drawing, especially if later combined with the bloom effect.

the key to why the colors in my art pop so much is that i don't enjoy drawing as much as i enjoy postprocessing pictures 😂🤣😅👌✌️👍 once i'm satisfied with the "base" colors i merge everything except the background, open a new canvas and go crazy with filters and textures. that's why i use ibispaint X even if i do the lineart elsewhere (krita), and even if it works a bit wonky with big canvases.

i do something different for each drawing here, so first i'm going to explain my reasoning so that you understand my process: i used to have a problem of using very strong colors that overshadowed my beloved lineart into which i had put a lot of effort, so my goal nowadays is to make everything look less contrasted without losing the visual impact of saturated colors. that way the lineart remains a strong point and not just a way to separate one color from another.

what i usually do is duplicate the new merged layer, set it to exclusion mode, add a gradient map and play with the opacity. then i duplicate that and do the same thing with another gradient or another blending mode. i tend to add like 3-6 layers of bullshit over my drawings, including textures and other filters like "bloom" or "sharpen". i understand everything that's going on there but i don't think too deeply about it, i just pick whatever looks best.

for the final touches i always pull up the saturation and contrast (since a lot of it gets lost in the process), and i usually have to manually change some colors (ibispaint X has a filter to do that) or tweak the curves. then i add chromatic aberration, noise set to overlay and little polka dots set to linear dodge.

here are some comparisons of the before and after of recent drawings. the 1st one is very subtle, but you can clearly see how much warmth and depth it gains it gets after all the postprocessing. the 2nd one is so different that i understand why you're curious about how i pick colors. i don't think i can replicate that look just from picking nice colors, there's a lot more going on!! the 3rd one personally feels like it had potential lost (i liked the yellow highlights), but the colors were too strong and all over the place, so the finished result looks more intimate and calm and i like it a lot more.

thank you for the interest anon, i'm very happy that you like the way i color things and i hope i have explained myself. good luck with your own journey!!

[milesmentis]

🍓🛼

how did you get into writing fanfiction?

So I've written fanworks here and there over the last decade, but until I got obsessed with Dragon Age it wasn't something I did regularly or devoted much time/thought to. Then Covid hit and DAO turned into my primary coping mechanism. It really was perfect catnip for me because it had the exact right mix of "gaps to fill in" and "tons of fixed boundaries". Plus, the fact that it's so choice driven (and that the choices I make are ... apparently ... uncommon) gave me a really strong outline to start with and themes that I could really dig into that the games hit with a much broader brush.

(Additionally, the thing that's kept me going all this time is definitely my beloved: FusionVerse is a love letter to her, specifically, and fixating on and continually refining it together is what gave us the tools and courage to finally confess our feelings. That's really the secret ... it's all an act of love)

describe your latest wip with five emojis

I have *so many* wips it is a genuine problem. The most recent one I worked on is not much more than a bunch of bullet points ... so I'll go with the one that I am closest to finishing (and most want to post)

📃😤⚔️🫴🐍

[Questions here]

[borrelia]

whats your process for drawing in paint? like how you go about lining and filling and shading etc without layers? if you wanna share

oh easy peasy! here, dog can help me illustrate

(this sketch is a little cleaner than normal bc i was messing around with it for a while). I usually sketch with light grey on white with a 2px pencil tool, since i work p small i think. always pencil tool, my beloved pencil tool.

let's just use black to line this time. if I want to use a different color I usually pick it up front. I alternate between 2, 3, and 4px depending on the level of detail. here's kind of what the raw lines look like as I do it, but it never *actually* looks like this bc as I line I'm also constantly going back in with white (and black again) to adjust line weights.

like this :)

then--i never remember if this is actually common knowledge or not, but--the eraser tool is just a color replace tool. if you put the color you want to erase as color 1 and the color you want to replace it with as the color 2, you right click and it will only erase that color. I've also seen people alternate using the paint bucket to fill sketch color + bg color, which can do a lot of area for you (since post win...7?, the eraser tool has a max size :( ) but won't get the nooks and crannies right.

and then like. my friend the bucket tool. I go back afterwards to color replace all those little corner spots of white with lineart color.

and then. would you be surprised if I told you i start cel shading with the eraser doing color replace again. would you be mad. and just like with the lineart, I constantly alternate between using the color replace vs the pencil to refine the shapes of the shadows

like this :) and that's. just all I do. a couple of times i've gotten a little fancier with using brushes and such. to do that I'll like. copy the sketch a couple times to the side, do lineart on one and paint a background over the other. then I just use the transparent selection to paste the foreground onto the background.

like these :) (sorry I didnt save the background on its own for the first one tho)

and that's it! like I said, easy peasy!

[docholligay]

I did discover while looking on her website, after a post bitching talking about British flour and how it is markedly different from US flour and that can really affect cakes*, a recipe using that golden syrup I bought, and I share it with you now

(She came up with this while in a flat in the Uk rewriting her entire Cake Bible for a Uk audience, but, obviously, this post was written for her main US one.)

Beloved English Gingerbread Cake--Rose Levy Beranbaum                                Serves:  10 to 12

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter 1¼ liquid cups golden refiner's syrup ¼ cup dark brown sugar 1 heaping tablespoon marmalade 2 large eggs 2/3 cup milk 1 cup (4 ozs.) sifted cake flour (lightly spooned into cup and leveled off) 1 cup -1 tablespoon (4 ozs.) whole wheat flour     (lightly spooned into cup and         leveled off) 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon a pinch salt         lemon syrup: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed     2 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 tablespoons sugar One 8-inch square cake pan, preferably metal, greased, bottom lined with parchment or waxed paper, then greased and floured.   Note:  some metal pans slope inward and are less than 8-inches at the bottom.  In this case it is better to use a 9-inch square pan or fill the pan ½ full and bake the excess batter as cup cakes. In a small, heavy saucepan, on medium-low heat, stir together the butter, golden syrup, sugar and marmalade until melted and uniform.  Set aside until just barely warm, then whisk in the eggs and milk.   In a large bowl, whisk together all the remaining dry ingredients.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring with a large spoon or rubber spatula just until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, no more than ½ full.  Bake for 50-60 minute or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center.  The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven. To make syrup:  In a small pan, stir together the 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons softened butter and the 3 tablespoons sugar.  Heat stirring, until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved.  Brush half the syrup on to the top of the cake.  Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto a greased wire rack.  Brush the bottom with the remaining syrup.  To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the top is up. For extra moistness, cover the cake with plastic wrap while still hot and allow it to cool.  Wrap airtight for 24 hours before eating.

*This also may explain why some of my recipes just...do not turn out, overseas. Apparently getting anything approaching cake flour is difficult and annoying and anyway if RLB has to basically remake every cake, rewrite every recipe, with those ingredients and tools, I don’t stand a chance in hell.

[blondedingdong]

Decided to fill the space with my beloved oc Siegrun! She's a trans woman and one badass modern knight. I love her sm and missed drawing her.

Also since the question on my pens comes up often lately, I use Faber-Castell pens for lines and colouring.

The pitt artist pen is a dream to line with. I have some other colours of this pen type but usually just use them for accents/colouring cuz I didn't find the right colour in the super soft brush set. The latter is what I use for colouring. They are a bit pricey so some colours that are dry by now I replaced with stabilo felt markers. I use red so much that I see no point in buying the expensive pens cuz they go dry in days lol. For shading I usually use Faber-Castell coloured pencils. I love polychromo pencils but they are VERY expensive (3 to 4 Euro EACH) due to their high quality since they are basically pure pigments. So I opted to regular Faber-Castell pencils cuz they are still bright in colour and mix lovely. Hope this is helpful to those who wanted to know abt my tools of choice. Always feel free to ask I'm happy to share my methods and tools! ♡